Black plastic no longer has the packaging industry in its spell

A little more than a year ago, WRAP (also known as the Waste & Resources Action Programme) notified packaging industry players in the UK that black plastic waste was being sent to landfills rather than recycled by local authorities because it is simply too difficult to break down. One of the first to respond to WRAP’s announcement by omitting black plastic from their supply chain was Quorn Foods. The total cost for them to do so is reportedly in the six-figure range … The results, though, are priceless.

The problem with black plastic

Wondering why black plastic is so hard to recycle? Great question! The answer is simple: because laser sorting devices used by recycling centers fail to register black plastic, it cannot be picked on conveyor belts.

The UK Plastic Pact

Preceding the recent battle against black plastic, a considerable number of brands and retailers active in the UK (including Quorn Foods) had already committed themselves to steer away from all single-use plastic packaging by 2025 by signing WRAP’s so-called UK Plastic Pact. Chief Executive of Quorn Foods Kevin Brennan felt eliminating black plastic from their supply chain was a logical next step: “Moving so quickly to remove black plastic is a significant challenge, but as a founding signatory of WRAP’s UK Plastic Pact, […] we view it as being of the utmost importance and the right thing to do, despite the six-figure cost.”

100% sustainable plastics by 2025

Priding themselves on their sustainability efforts – and rightly so – meat substitute brand Quorn Foods has now eliminated a whopping 297 tonnes of non-recyclable black plastic packaging from their supply chain. Their chilled range in the UK now comes in white and opaque plastics which are all recyclable. Quorn Foods plans to introduce their new plastic packaging to all their export markets by 2025. Inspired by Packaging News